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Friday Hops and Follows

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Will I every be glad to actually reach Friday – the last day of school.  This past two weeks has been jammed packed with every thing imaginable.  We did many Christmas concerts, Christmas parties, Christmas sing-a-long days, Christmas Craft days and finally tomorrow is Milk & Cookies with Santa followed by treats and a movie.  At the end of all this I will take my sugar-filled overwrought child home.  We then have a week of mommy-daughter time to field the important question of: Is it time for Santa to come yet? She is simply dancing in anticipation of Santa’s arrival!

That said…..on to the activities!!  

First off is Jennifer at Crazy-for Books.  She has a very popular weekly blog hop.  She give us a question to answer and then we can link up and wander from blog to blog learning about other bloggers.

This week’s question is: “What do you consider the most important in a story: the plot or the characters?”

I really want to say that both are equally important because a good story with weak characters makes for a bad read, and strong characters with a bad plot also makes for a bad read.  If I had to choose one, I would say that the characters are the most important in my mind.  I seem to have trouble moving beyond moronic characters to see a good story,  I will get caught up in the characters failures and lose sight of all else.  I’ve had several books lately that had characters that I absolutely abhored, but an excellent plot.  I had trouble reviewing the books as for me, the poor characters overshadowed the writing.

What do you think?

Our second Friday activity is Follow Friday sponsored by Parajunkee.  This week’s featured blog is Rabid Reads.  Drop by her blog and congratulate her on being chosen as the featured blog.  Just like above, head over to Parajunkee’s blog using the link above and link up and then find out more about your fellow bloggers.

This week’s question is:  What did you study in college, or are currently studying and did it lead to your current 9 to 5 or are you doing something totally different?

My answer is: I studied Molecular Biology & Genetics and then Education in university.  That led to full time work for some years in research and then teaching.  I am now a WAHM , running a small on-line bookstore from my home.  I also work in my daughter’s school part time and I blog.  What did you study in school??

Our final activity is Follow Friday 40 and over.  This weekly meme is sponsored by Java at Never Growing Old.  Java simply has us post the badge on our blog and then link up at her blog and join the follow.

Hope everyone has a safe and fun Holiday Season.  For those of you with little ones in your family, SANTA’S COMING!!!!  Have you checked out Norad Santa – a great geography lesson on Christmas eve (and keeps the little ankle bitters busy:) )

About Barb Drozdowich

Social Media and Wordpress Consultant Barb Drozdowich has taught at University, trained technical personnel in the banking industry and, most recently, used her expertise to help dozens of authors develop the social media platform needed to succeed in today’s fast evolving publishing world. She owns Bakerview Consulting and is the only reviewer on this blog.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Candace

    Hi,

    I’m just hopping over from FF and wanted to say hello. You have a very interesting blog here. I love to read!

    Have a great weekend,
    Candace

  3. Tina (Book Couture)

    I love your answers! It was a hard decision for me too, but personally, I think that the story and plotline are equally as important as each other, so I agree. If I had to chose, I’d probably say plotline though. A good plot (synopsis) will make you pick up the book, but good characters are more common.

    Your blog is adorable, by the way, and I’m definitely following you for more reviews and awesome posts!

    Happy reading,
    Tina @ Book Couture

  7. Jenni Elyse

    I had such a hard time with today’s question. I don’t think you can have one without the other. But, the characters are what usually keep me reading and why I invest my time in the book.

  10. Stephanie N

    Hi,
    I’m visiting from the Blog Hop and am a new follower. I’m definitely a character person, so if I don’t connect, the plot will mean little to me.

    Have a nice weekend!

  13. Susan (Reading World)

    Thanks for coming to my blog. You’ve got a great site here. And running an online bookstore sounds like a fun match for a booklover! I’ve read a bunch of Eloisa James and Jo Beverly, so it’s fun to see them pop up here and remember them.

    • Barb

      Hi Susan!
      Eloisa James and Jo Beverley are among my favorite authors – it’s nice to wander through the blogs and find new to me authors, though. Expands my horizons!

  14. Karen

    Hopping back! I agree with your answer. I can make it through a bad plot if there is a character I like but not the other way around. Although I do care about both.

  17. Mel u

    Great answer-I think I feel the same-I would lose interest in a well plotted story if the lead characters were weakly done -thanks for the blog hop visit and I am also a follower of your blog

  18. Suko

    Hi, I am here from Mel’s blog. What an interesting way to do memes together in one post! You have a really nice blog. 🙂

  19. ashley

    Hey coming over from the follow.
    I had a bit of a hard time deciding which too, but in the end i chose characters. I love good characters. 🙂

  20. Audrey

    nice answer, i chose characters too 🙂 im visiting from the hop and i’m your newest follower! have a wonderful weekend, i hope you can drop by my blog sometime 🙂

  22. Su-sieee! Mac

    Hi, Sugarbeat’s! Thanks for dropping by my blog earlier. I’m glad you did. I can see many interesting things to explore on your blog. The first two memes you’re participating in sound like a lot of fun. Merry Christmas!

  23. Melissa

    Thanks for stopping by my site, Barb. I’m following you on Twitter now too.

    For me, it doesn’t matter so much if the characters do stupid things because we all make mistakes. It’s more when their actions or the way they say things aren’t believable that I have an issue with it (either because it doesn’t follow from their previous behavior or it’s just poorly written).

  25. Stephanie

    Hi Barb, thanks for stopping by my blog and the follow. The follow has been returned! 🙂

    Characters are what really makes a story come alive for me, so I’m with you on the character vs. plot question.

    Happy Holidays to you and yours!

  26. Elizabeth

    Hopping by from the blog hop.

    Lots of good answers to this week’s tough question.

    Stop by my blog to see my answer to this week’s question.

    Also check out a design site I found…pretty neat home decorating ideas…it is in the right side panel on my blog.

    http://silversolara.blogspot.com

    Happy Holidays!!

  27. Tiger Holland

    Hopping by to return the visit and follow! Glad you’re sharing the character-love. If I think the characters are dull, I’m unlikely to enjoy even the coolest plots. 🙂

  30. bravechickens

    Hi Barb, I’m glad you like my blog. I only review YA (for now) so you’ll easily find something for a YA audience 🙂
    btw, as for your domain name, it’s even better when you have sugar and books. I love eating cookies and reading (but I do get crumbs all over me sometimes, hahaha) 😀

    • Barb

      Thanks for the visit! I’m really looking forward to some new ideas for the new year. I’ll be popping by your blog regularly for some suggestions to get the kids reading 🙂 Speaking of cookies….at this time of year….hot cup of coffee…..christmas cookies…..a good book….what could be better?? Hope you and yours have a great Christmas!